LONDON/PARIS, April 9 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday on the back of figures showing a strong recovery in Europe’s auto sector, robust German data and takeover speculation in the media and luxury sectors.

British luxury goods maker Burberry was the top riser on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, adding 3.7 percent after positive numbers from Mulberry and talk of consolidation in the sector.

Goldman Sachs added Burberry to its list of “conviction buy” shares for which the probability of a bid is 30 percent or more.

Norwegian publishing firm Schibsted, also added to the Goldman, climbed 4.4 percent, while Italian media group Mediaset rose 3.2 percent after Mediobanca flagged it as a bid target for France’s Vivendi.

German generic drugmaker Stada was up 2.8 percent as U.S. rival Mylan’s proposed takeover of Ireland-based Perrigo fuelled a re-rating in the sector.

The FTSEurofirst 300 rose 0.6 percent to 1,622.05 points by 1113 GMT, taking its gains so far this year to 18.5 percent, in a rally largely fuelled by the European Central Bank’s bond buying programme, known as quantitative easing (QE).

Robust German data also lifted the mood, with seasonally adjusted exports rising 1.5 percent on the month after dipping 2.1 percent in January.

Auto stocks advanced also after industry figures showed the sector’s recovery broadened to France and Spain, Italy and Portugal in March.

Car maker Renault and tyre firm Michelin both rose more than 2 percent. The STOXX auto sector index - whose 31 percent rise this year is the best performance among European sectors - was up 1.2 percent.

Greek shares steadied, with Athens’s benchmark Athex General Composite Share Index (ATG) up 0.5 percent after the country confirmed it will pay a 450 million euro ($485 million) loan installment to the International Monetary Fund.

With many equity indexes up 20 percent or more this year, some traders were worrying a pullback may be imminent.

“A lot of good news have already been priced in and there are quite a few potential negative catalysts on the horizon, including the Fed’s first rate hike and the UK and Spanish elections. We could soon get a 5 to 10 percent correction.”

The Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting minutes, published on Wednesday, suggested a June rate hike is still possible.